After the Tercentenary--What? -- Dr. Rev. Julius Lincoln, a Lindsborg and Bethany Swede

Lindsborg & BethanyNew Sweden 300th Anniversary Celebration

1938 would mark 300 years since the Swedes and the Finns first landed in the Delaware River Valley of America, a region which would eventually be called New Sweden. Their settlements, thereafter, would eventually formed the first three (3 ) states in America in 1787, with Delaware declaring statehood on December 7th, Pennsylvania on December 12th, and New Jersey on December 18th.

Joining Swedish Americans all over the country in 1937 for this grand celebration of New Sweden, in New Sweden, was Lindsborg, one small Swedish American city of 30 or so small Kansas towns with Swedish American communities, all of whom were looked to, to raise their Kansas portion of $4,200 which would go towards the $750,000 endowment for the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia. The date to have this endowment completed would be by June 27,1938, the date for the celebration to begin.

Bethany College had a major role to play in this event as Swedish American President Pihlblad was appointed to represent the Central Committee of the National Campaign Committee Organization of the Swedish American Tercentenary Association for the Swedes of Kansas. In turn, Pihlblad would appointed Emil O. Deere to join District Chairmen Oliver Hawkinson of Lindsborg and Charlie Ohrvall of Wichita to complete this Kansas portion of the task at hand for the Swedes of America. (Source: Reverse side of the Swedish American Tercentenary Association letter from Frank Torell, May 31, 1938.)

All of the planning documents generated for this event that Deere received are presented in this section. Seen as a most important time in their modern Swedish American history, these documents give us a glimpse of who these Swedes were and how they were. For sure, they were driven dynamic committed individuals of 1937 charged with this daunting duty -- "That will be the triumphant note of the Three Hundredth Anniversary" as Dr. Rev. Julius the Lindsborg native put it in one of the circulating brochures.

The primary responsibility was to guarantee that the American Swedish Historical Museum will go on into perpetuity through the realized endowment of its $750,000. Thus, all of Swedish America was called to task!

A few key Swedes from Swedish American Tercentenary Association headquarters in New York City and Chicago who would be passing their directives out to all of the Swedish American National Campaign Committee workers were Francis J. Plym, O.N. Solbert, Frank Torell and Dr. Julius Lincoln.

One document, The Long Awaited Swedish-American 300th Anniversary CELEBRATION is stage for June 27, 28, 29 and 30 in DELAWARE, PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY, mailed to Deere was from the Lindsborg and Bethany Swede, Dr. Rev. Julius Lincoln, entitledAfter the Tercentenary--What? Knighted by the Swedish Crown in 1930, he had graduated with the first baccalaureate degree graduates of Bethany in 1891 along with classmate President Pihlblad. Both he and Pihlblad would become associate pastors to Carl Aaron Swensson at Bethany Church.

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